Springfield's homeless surveyed to help determine funding

Feb. 1, 2013

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and Valerie Mosley

Erica Manahan and Amber Bozarth, right, finish a survey with Michael Jones, 20, for the annual homeless count at the Midtown Carnegie Library on Thursday. Jones has been homeless for several years and only recently learned about services available through Rare Breed Youth Outreach. / Valerie Mosley/News-Leader

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From 6 a.m. to midnight, volunteers were out counting the homeless on Thursday in Springfield. They were at libraries, bus stops, homeless shelters and on the street.

Michelle Garand of the Community Partnership of the Ozarks said a final number won’t be available until at least today, but she expected the total to be at least 200. A health survey that was part of this year’s effort found 140 homeless people with chronic health conditions.

“We have more surveys coming back,” Garand said.

The count, which was conducted statewide Thursday, is done twice a year, in January and in July to provide data on both sheltered and unsheltered homeless. The numbers help determine where money to combat homelessness is spent.

The homeless count started in 2005 when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development called on communities to attempt to count unsheltered homeless.

John Musso, 51, was at the Salvation Army where agencies handed out warm clothes including hats, gloves and scarves and tents, sleeping bags and tarps. There was also a hot breakfast, lunch and homemade cookies.

The Housing Authority of the City of Springfield was at the event to help people apply for housing. Help in applying for food stamps was also available. Burrell Homeless Services and the Veterans Administration were among the other organizations at the event.

Musso planned to spend the night at the Salvation Army because Thursday it was cold enough for the extreme cold weather shelter to open its doors. The shelter opens when the National Weather Service forecasts wind chills of 14 or below. The low Thursday was expected to be 6 degrees.

Musso spent Wednesday night at the Sunshine Street Church of Christ which opens when the temperature is 32 or below. On Tuesday, when it was warmer, he slept in an abandoned house.

“They seem to care about you when you’re freezing because it makes them look bad if you die of hypothermia,” Musso said.

Michael Jones, 20, was counted at the Midtown Carnegie library. He has been homeless for six years. He’s couch-hopped and slept outside.

“It has its ups and downs,” Jones said. “Disadvantage is sometimes you gotta sleep outside. Advantage is you’re pretty much free. I’m not saying it’s a good thing, but whatever.”

Garand said homeless advocates are seeing or hearing about more homeless veterans. She hopes to bring a program to help the homeless to Springfield.

“There’s resources for the homeless that weren’t necessarily there five years ago,” Garand said.

Not all the homeless wanted to be counted. A cluster of men gathered in the lobby of the Salvation Army on Thursday afternoon said they hadn’t been counted so far. One of them, who gave his name as Wayne, said he didn’t want to be part of efforts to bring more grant money to the area.